Thursday, December 10, 2009

Palace says it’s opposition that’s ruining economy

Malacañang yesterday said it is politicking by the opposition that is bad for the economy, not President Arroyo’s running for congresswoman nor her placing Maguindanao province under martial law.

Gary Olivar, deputy presidential spokesman for economic affairs, said scenarios that Arroyo’s twin actions signal to chaotic times are "premature."

"I think the President, if she lands in Congress will behave with the same soberness and probity that she has displayed throughout her years in the presidency and we see no reason to expect her to behave otherwise if and when she wins a congressional seat," Olivar said.

Olivar was reacting to the report of New York-based think tank GlobalSource that Arroyo’s run for a congressional seat in Pampanga and her declaration of martial law could signal "more chaotic times ahead."

GlobalSource said Arroyo may target to clinch a key position in the next Congress and use her residual clout among her loyal congressmen and "be the proverbial thorn on the side of the administration."

"Such an environment, though not very likely, would be bad for business and the economy if efforts are spent on politicking rather than pushing key reforms," it said.

Olivar said "politicking does not come from the President" but from the opposition, "those who create sideshows, those who distract the public instead of focusing on what their main job should be."

He said it is the opposition which creates scenarios of martial law spreading to the entire Philippines, of the Ampatuans being sprung from prison, and other stories "with no factual basis."

"This is the kind of behavior that’s bad for governance and GlobalSource is saying hopefully it will not continue into a post-election where you might have a realignment of forces," he said.

Olivar said martial law jitters are not the reason the stock market went down. He said the conflict is confined only to Maguindanao and martial law has led to the return of peace and order and normal government functions in the province.

He said the market is mature enough to understand the situation in South.

Olivar also said a 4 percent deficit is "still manageable," following the breaching of the P250 billion target and its possible heading into the P300 billion territory.

"I guess what is going for us in the long term is we do have the wind at our back because we now have the global recovery taking root. This will start to improve economic activity, especially with our trading partners, which in turn will improve our collections with regards to our trading activity," he said.